Time is Running out
by Avialle
Summary: It could be perfect. Izuku likes Shouto... and Shouto likes Izuku. Essentially. But they meet at the worst instant of time and how it is supposed to work out, if the end is written, before it even really began? [quirkless AU]
1. Prologue

What if you finally found it?  
This one person. The one, with which everything fit just perfectly.

Who was the reason for seeing the world suddenly in the brightest colors.  
Whose smile could get rid of the darkest of thoughts and brought blazing light.  
This one person, who could finally give you back the faith in something, that you waved aside as some naïve fantasy a long time ago.

The faith in believing, that something like love really existed.

What if you met that person suddenly and unexpected… but at the wrong time?

Izuku had thought about this countless times. About the perfidious cruelty of all that.

Actually, he never even reckoned with that. With all the things that happened, after this one person stepped into his life. As sudden as a hailstorm in April. And it had caught him as off guard as that.

And even though he threw caution to the wind at the beginning… now he could feel distinctly the chunks of ice raining down on him. Punishing and relentlessly.

Blow. On blow. On blow.

It was cold. Freezing.  
And it hurt. Deep inside.  
Cause the ice was sinking into his heart, slowly but surely.

Which was beating for him. Still.

Forever.?

Probably yes. Probably a part of his heart would _always_ be attached to him. To the thought of what could have been… if they only had met to a different time in their lives.

If. If. If.

A silly word. A cowardly word. A word, that made wrong promises. And that was still lurking in his head, nevertheless.

For it was this cruel _if_ that caused Izuku to not being able to forget _him_. Because it contained some faint hope.  
Stupid, naïve hope.

 _If_ he would come back eventually, it maybe could work out.  
 _If_ his heart would still be beating for Izuku ,by then.  
 _If_ he wouldn't have met someone new, by then…

A thought, that immediately cause him to feel a sharp pain deep inside. That smothered him. Staggered him. And abruptly made the color fade that _he_ had brought into his life.

A thought he didn't even dared to think… no, he wasn't even able to do so!

Even though they clarified the matter. No. _He_ clarified the matter. And Izuku agreed.  
The conditions were clear. Form the very beginning.  
Well. Nearly from the beginning.

Because _if_ Izuku would have known it upon their first meeting… _if_ he would have known what would happen…

He would have done it anyway. He knew that with a certainty only death could compete with. Because it didn't matter what happened in the end… for _he_ was this one person. The one with which everything fit perfectly.

It was only the instant of time.

The damn, wrong instant of time.


	2. Chapter 1 - How it started

It began in a classical way, on one of those typical student parties.  
Even though Izuku wasn't really into this kind of event. Especially not, if he simply stood out by the fact that he assumedly was the only none-scientist here.  
According to him all of this sounded more like the beginning of one of those bad jokes, along the lines of: A physician, a biologist, an actor (and so on) are meeting at a bar…

The host was Denki Kaminari, electrical engineering student – Izuku didn't know him very well. But it quickly became obvious, that he was a perfect all-round entertainer. Just now he announced loudly that he would endure it to put a letter clip on his bottom lip for the minimum of five minutes. Yet he was holding both thumps up, grinning widely, but Izuku assumed that this wouldn't last very long…

But the reason for Izuku being here – he wasn't very keen on trying something like that himself – just came around the corner, holding two brimming cups, an apologizing smile on the lips.  
"I'm sorry, I spent too much time chatting…" Ochaco, physic student and effectively his best friend gave one of the beer cups to him and rubbed with her free hand over the back of her head.

"No problem, really!" Izuku gave her an honest smile and waved dismissively to show her, that it really wasn't a big deal. She seemed relieved and said, "Okay". Then she raised her cup to him and started to clatter, how unbelievable it was that so many people gathered here. More specifically that all of them fit into this small flat. Izuku agreed: every corner of the room was crowded with people and he only knew a handful of them. And most of them he had only met briefly from one of those other times Ochaco had dragged him along to a similar event.

She, however, seemed to know half of the party people, but this wasn't very surprising. You couldn't help but to like someone as kind and lovely as Ochaco. That was why he couldn't have rejected her, when she had asked him to come – even though Izuku had to get up pretty early the next day, because he would have an audition.  
But well, he wouldn't have to stay that long, right?

As soon as he thought of this, Izuku spotted a familiar face in the crowd – which seemed to recognize them just in the same moment. But Ochaco was the fasted of them and already dashed off towards the it.  
"Momo! Ahh, it is soooo good to see you!" Ochaco unfolded her arms around her friend and as soon as Izuku reached them he waved at Momo with a friendly smile.

She wore her hair open today, for an exception. Normally they were tied together to a high ponytail, because it was suitable for her field of study: materials science. There she often had to work in a laboratory.  
Izuku knew her from some lunchbreaks, because she hung out with their small group from time to time – or from parties like this one, because Ochaco actually got to know her during a course in her first semester they had visited together.

But at second glance Izuku realized that Momo wasn't here alone – and automatically he asked himself how it was possible that he didn't notice the guy standing beside her immediately. Just the unique color of his hair literately screamed for attention, for the left side was dyed in some dark shade of red and the other one resembled the color of snow.

Could it possibly be, that one of them was his natural hair color?

Well, if this was the case, than it would assumingly be the right side, because the red was so deep and dark, that it could rarely be natural. On the other hand, a bright white like this was equally uncommon and rare…

Before he could stop himself, Izuku started to muse and mumble his thoughts to himself, so that he didn't even realized, that he was blatantly starring at the stranger.

And talking of starring: his eyes were as remarkable as the color of his hair. On the left an icy blue and on the right a cool grey. And additionally to that there was this burn scar… in a dark shade of red it covered nearly the whole of the upper left side of his face. Instead of distorting him though, it gave him an even more interesting touch. As if that wasn't already the case…

It was fascinating. Everything about his appearance. And it seemed that not only Izuku was left speechless. Ochaco became abruptly silent, too and couldn't help but to stare at Momos company.

The stranger, however, didn't seem to notice anything of that. Instead, he was looking around indifferently, his hands buried casually in the pockets of his trousers. His expression seemed distant and aloof. Impossible to recognize what he was thinking about.

Before it could get even more awkward, Momo saved the moment by saying, "Oh, I'm sorry, I totally forgot to introduce – "

"Shouto."

Unblinking, he cut her short. Shortly looked at Ochaco and after that at Izuku, not showing the slightest inclination to add something. Both of them were caught in some state of shock and Izuku was sure, that Ochaco felt as caught as himself.

After a short time, however, he covered up his astonishment with a friendly smile and reached out his hand to Shouto. "Pleased to meet you! I'm – "  
Before he had to chance to finish his sentence, Shouto sighed deeply and resignedly, before he suddenly turned his back on them.  
"Excuse me," he said to Momo while walking away, who seemed as confused as Izuku and Ochaco.  
And he didn't even glance back.

It took some time before Momo rallied herself – definitely before them. After that she explained rashly, "Sorry, I should follow him quickly. See ya!"  
She waved at them smiling and hurried after this guy. Shouto.

As if Izuku was in a trance, he watched Momo saying something to him, frowning and lightly upset. The only reaction she got was a short point in the direction behind them and additionally, a liminal shrug. After that, both of them vanished from Izukus sight.

"What on earth… was that?" asked Ochaco after some time, obviously equally spellbound as confused. Her head was in a slightly tilted position and her mouth a bit open, as if she was secretly asking herself, if she had dreamed all of what just happened. Izuku felt the same.  
"I have absolutely no idea…," he answered finally, still a bit perplexed.  
"Well, maybe he is shy or something like that…," Ochaco eventually said, shrugging and showing her familiar smile. "But for now, let's head to the buffet. I would kill for some cheese-crackers!"

Izuku nodded and showed his most convincing smile, before he let drag himself to the food. But this was just on the surface. Deep in his thoughts he went through the situation of a moment ago over and over again.  
It preyed on his mind.

And more than that. It unsettled him.

* * *

"Hey, what was that supossed to be…? Ochaco and Izuku are really good friends of mine!"

Shouto could clearly hear the subtle reproach in Momos voice, even though she seemed worried somehow at the same time. Brilliant. He was already fed up with this. Actually, he didn't even want to go to this party to begin with.

But, well, she had good intentions. He knew this. And, to be fair, it was probably better spending his evening here, than alone at home. Nevertheless, his motivation to stay here any longer lowered every second.

However, concerning the things Momo just talked about, Shouto felt absolutely right about it. After all, it simply had been some sort of self-protection, that he walked away just now. Because what even bothered him more than this party itself were ninety percent of the people visiting it.

"I wasn't keen on being encircled by these weird women again," he explained shortly and pointed unobtrusive behind himself. There, where he had seen them standing in a small group, with this strange look in their eyes that automatically had told him what this would have resulted in: trivial, petty topics. Silly giggling for all the things he would say and wouldn't say. And those oh so random and uncalled insights into the décolleté – something that always led to the slight feeling of external shame.

Shouto surrendered to the question, why he of all people seemed to attract this kind of women. By now, it was just troublesome and he decided to escape instead of seeking confrontation. 'Cause in all honesty: he really didn't have the nerve for something like that on this evening. Not after this god damn day.

His damn father… he always seemed to manage to provoke him…

The mere thought of him made Shouto pressing his teeth roughly together and clenching his fist, automatically. This damn acceptance letter he received today was only the tip of the iceberg. An iceberg with the size of all the world oceans. And it would even trespass them, soon.

Before his wrath, which seemed to burn like an eternal flame inside him, could rise even more to the surface, Momo managed to bring him back to the present – although, it was just because she brought up another topic, he didn't want to hear anything of. Instead of wrath he always reacted with defense to that.

"Well, I know of an option for you to get rid of 'these weird woman' " She showed quotation marks with her fingers.  
Shouto only gave her an bland expression and slightly raised an eyebrow. Then he snorted derogatively and muttered, "Sure."

He knew too well what she thought about his current attitude towards this topic. But that didn't mean he would change that in the near future. Both of them knew this.

Momo replied with a resigned sighing. "I'm just saying…" She dropped her gaze and bit her bottom lip. Probably because she was trying to think of a way to remedy the current situation somehow. More specifically the evening. A hopeless endeavor, if she would have asked him, 'cause Shouto had made it clear from the start, that he wasn't in the mood for something like this party.

"But could you at least try to have some fun? I mean… who knows when we'll have the next opportunity do something like this…"

Oh, of course. She was using _this_.  
Sometimes she was smarter than it was good for her. Or for him.

"Maybe, if the people here behave. Else I'm gone," he mumbled disinterested and avoided to look at her directly. 'Cause every answer that didn't lead to him storming out of the room was something like a small victory. And, indeed, Momo seemed a lot more pleased than before.

"Great! I'll get us some new drinks, right?"  
"I don't mind, as you like. For me gin tonic and – "  
"More ice than anything else, I know." She gave him a wink and went off to the bar after that, while Shouto leaned against a free place at the wall. He tried his hardest to not attract attention of any annoying people. Something that seemed to be nearly impossible since the number of potentially interesting people was practically zero.

He should have stayed at home…

* * *

"Let's play Activity!" Tipsy and with a wide grin on his face, Kaminari held the game box over his head.

Admittedly: Those weren't the words you would think of being the trigger for something groundbreaking. And when the coincidence decided, that he would be paired up with Shouto, the guy from earlier, Izuku was insecure at first. For he still had no clue what had been going on a short while ago… and if Momos friend maybe had some reservations against him – why ever. But it was something like an automatism for Izuku to think that way, being a former mobbing victim.

Instead of getting the cold shoulder again though, the first thing Shouto said was, "Thank God none of those troublesome women…"  
Thereupon Izuku gave him a half confused, half asking glance. "Ehm…" More than that he didn't manage to say at the moment.  
"I'm fleeing them all night long," he answered shortly, making a vague gesture to the opposite side of the room. Izuku followed it with his eyes and noticed, that the small group of women began to whisper.

Shouto sighed resignedly. "Never mind. Do you know how this game works?" He gave him an insistently glimpse and seemed dead serious with his question. Something that unsettled Izuku again, 'cause, well, who didn't know of Activity?  
Than Shouto added: "Izuku, right?"

Know he was totally dumbstruck.

"I… I… yes." Izuku nodded confirming. He probably knew his name from Momo, Izuku thought. Nevertheless, it hit him totally off-guard, that Shouto obviously had kept his name in mind, thinking of all his overtly disinterest earlier.  
Again, Izuku had no clue what to think of his counterpart. He was a closed book to him…

Shouto didn't respond to his stuttering and didn't seem to care either, 'cause je simply asked again for the rules, completely unmoved. It appeared, that there really were people who never had heard of this game before…

And even though there was still a small part inside of him that was kinda unsure and smelled some kind of trouble, Izuku finally explained the rules patiently. While doing so, he felt more secure second by second, 'cause Shouto didn't convey the impression that he was making fun of him or something like that. Not even for one moment. Instead, he was listening attentively and seemed to think about the best strategy to win in this game.

And then the game began and when it was their turn, Izuku suggested to start the first round. A good decision as things turned out, because the figure landed on a mime-field.

"Oh, lucky you!" said Uraraka, smiling, who was paired up with Kaminari and didn't get his explanations at all. The word _power outlet_ she couldn't guessed out of his words, but that wasn't very surprising, to be fair. The host seemed to be in a state beyond good and evil and it probably would be best, if he would switch over to water soon…

"That's for sure! Perfect match up!" Momo agreed and smiled at him first and after that at Shouto. However, his game partner seemed rather confused, than hopeful. That's why Izuku explained hesitant: "Well… I'm an actor…"

That didn't mean he would automatically be good at mime, but it maybe gave him a bit of an advantage.

Shouto responded with a vivid glance, that Izuku could interpret not quite. Was it astonishment? Interest? Both!?  
Whatever it was, he kept his thoughts to himself and showed shortly after that his usual poker face.

Izuku took one moment to collect his thoughts, before he drew a card. After that he scanned the text.

 _To give somebody the glad eye._

Uff, okay, that wouldn't be an easy one…  
And although he had acted out situation like that endlessly often in front of an audience, he felt surprisingly nervous, looking at this task. 'Cause it was no accident, that Shouto had gotten one or two idolizing glances throughout the evening…

Izuku took one deep breath. Then he put the card aside and tried to focus on a professional routine, before he gave the signal, that the hourglass could be turned now.

And then he started. At first he tried it with a mix of an admiring smile and winking.

Shouto looked like he was highly concentrated and had one hand placed on his chin in a deliberating manner. Since he didn't say anything at the moment, Izuku winked even harder.

"There is something in your eye?"

He shook his head vigorously. From the other players, he could hear soft laughing and giggling.

"Twitching eyes?"

Izuku shook his head. Then he decided to change his strategy und maintained only the smile. Additionally, he waved coquettish – and felt pretty stupid while doing so, 'cause the snorting sounds around him only seemed to get louder.

"Oh, so twitching in general?"

He shook his head again, vigorously.

"Maybe the technical term? Myoclonia?"

Izuku wasn't the only one who never had heard of this word before probably, and while he was shaking with his head again, he started to try something else. Word by word mime.  
That's why he opened his eyes as wide as possible and pointed with his forefinger on them.

"Ah! Twiching of the eye _ball_!"

That caused the barrel to overflow. The fellow players couldn't help but to burst into laughter, 'cause every single one of them knew very well, that none of those words were part of Activity.

Shouto, in turn, seemed rather clueless and before he could guess something else, the last grain of sand reached the bottom.

"Oh my God, Shouto, go ahead like this and you'll kill me!" bellowed Kaminari through his entire flat and slapped him on the back while laughing. And when Izuku released the right answer to the crowd, there was no holding back.

It took more than ten minutes for everyone to quieten down again.  
While Shouro didn't seem to get quiet, why zhe whole crowd had nearly died by asphyxia, Izuku explained to him what he had tried to show with his gestures. To prepare for the next rounds.

When it was Shoutos turn to do mime, it went pretty good and they managed to move their figure forward to a painting field. Something, Izuku was good at, although it was impossible to draw more than some scribbles in the short amount of time. Usually at last, because when it was Shoutos turn to draw, he seemed to take all the time in the world.

Accurately, like a calligraphy artist, he drew line by line neatly and even asked for a rubber while doing so. Ochaco finally gave one to him, with a perplex expression on her face.  
Izuku really tried his hardest to figure out what Shouto wanted to draw, but by the time the time limit was reached, there was nothing more to see, than some pretty accurate lines. As if it was supposed to be the beginning of a detailed picture.  
Shouto seemed to live according to the motto all-or-nothing – even if this wasn't the best strategy when it came to this game…

"Somehow, this game doesn't make sense. How are you supposed to draw something proper in this short amount of time?" he mumbled, more to himself, while he was looking at the card, furrowing his brow.  
"Well… it's absolutely okay to skip some of the details," Izuku explained with a peaceably smile. "May I… take a look?"

Shouto gave the card to him without any comment. _Holiday camp_ was the term he should have drawn. As Izuku took a closer look at the paper, he recognized that Shouto had drawn the foundation of a log cabin, including detailed wood grain.  
He was definitely good at painting. But when it came to doodle some requested word as fast as possible… no, that wasn't one of his strong points.

Nevertheless, Izuku had a very good time at this evening over all. Not least to the fact, that Shouto repeatedly amazed him. He was incredible fascinating, in his very own way. And even though Shouto seemed rather cool and aloof – what seemed to be part of his personality, rather than a sign of dismissal – he seemed to unbend a bit, gradually. At least, he seemed to be having fun, too…

That is how it came that Izuku stayed way longer, than he had originally planned, and it was only due to his rationality that he finally went home in the end. With a kind smile he said good bye to everyone and thought inwardly, that he maybe should allow himself to be persuaded more often by Ochaco to go to parties like these.

However, at this point in time, Izuku had not the slightest idea what he was in for.  
How this one evening would change his life.

This one encounter.

This one person.


	3. Chapter 2: Flicker of hope

An audition like this one was all the same in ninety percent of cases. At first, you got a number. If you were lucky, it was a double-digit number. But if there was a third number on your note, the chances to even get called up, sank rapidly. Endless weeks of preparation for nothing.

Taking a closer look at the waiting room, you could see countless something-like-doppelganger of yourself. Everywhere the same clothing, that only differed in some shades of color or small details like an extra pocket or something like that. The only crucial difference was the flicker of hope in the eyes: from naïve and exuberant, when it came to the beginners, to experienced and indifferent. Those expressions you could find by the ones, that were part of the system for a longer time. Who knew the game. And it's ridiculous low chances of winning.

If you eventually were called out, you often only had the amount of about three breaths time, before you were sent away already. If you were very lucky, you had more than five minutes. Ten was possibly record-breaking.  
Additionally, you always felt like being some annoying nuisance. Someone undesired, you wanted to get rid of, as soon as possible. Given that you even were receiving attention, because often the staff was looking at pictures of other candidates or was making phone calls or was eating their lunch. All of that, while you were giving your best and putting all your heart into it.

Today, Izuku had managed to pass the five-minute-obstacle at least. Something, that didn't happen every day and was a small victory itself. Even though it hurt even more to receive a rejection in such a case.  
Maybe that was due to the fact, that this audition wasn't for some super popular and big movie, but instead for a small theater project. But both, the storyline and the advertised role were to Izukus liking, that's why he had spurned the counteroffer of his agency in this case.

Bigger film projects were tempting, too, of course, but from time to time he preferred small auditions like this one. Maybe, because sometimes he needed this… this small sense of achievement. For the film business was hard and merciless, as life itself.

Feeling fairly well, he went out of the building eventually. Not getting an immediate decision wasn't the best sign, but sometimes you could be lucky anyway. His mood even increased, when he saw Ochaco, who waved at him, smiling, and came towards him.

"Hey there, what are you doing here?" Izuku asked, not hiding his surprise and returned the smile. Actually, they wanted to meet at a café nearby, together with Tenya, who was his closest friend in addition to Ochaco. It was like some tradition that they met in a two-week rhythm, to talk about the newest news and to not lose sight of each other. That's why he was even more surprised, that Ochaco picked him up. He only had only mentioned in passing, when and where his audition would take place.

Ochaco smiled even wider, as she linked their arms together. "Weeeeell, you see… there's something I've heard about… and, well, I know, I probably shouldn't tell you this, 'cause this somehow takes the magic away from it, but… I just can't help it!" Her eyes seemed to shine in a quite peculiar way and Izuku wasn't sure what this was supposed to be all about – or if he even wanted to know. Even though he was curious, on the other hand…

"You remember the party yesterday? And Momo… and this guy, Shouto, who accompanied her…" Rhetorical question. And Izuku gave her a surprised glance, 'cause now it was even harder for him to guess, where this was leading to. His reaction caused her to even broaden her grin.  
"Weeeeell, it seems that you made quite an impression…"  
"Wait – what!?" He was staring at her, completely thunderstruck. 'Cause none of her words made any sense. But nevertheless, Ochaco continued chattering cheerfully and full of excitement, "Momo asked me earlier on, if it was okay to ask for your phone number… 'cause _he_ wanted to have it!"

She was all smiles, shaking euphorically on his arm. "This is soooo cute!"  
Izuku, however, was more like in a state of complete shock. Totally taken by surprise and perplex. He couldn't think clear. Error. Total breakdown.

Was he… dreaming?

„Hey, say something! Or… no, don't tell me he isn't your type!?" Ochaco was looking at him with big eyes, full of disbelief. How he managed to shake his head, he couldn't tell afterwards.

And after that his thoughts began to circle around wildly and he mumbled different possibilities to himself, why a guy like Shouto would, out of all people in the world, ask for his number. While doing so, he clutched his chin in a typical way and inspected the ground.

A bet? No, probably not. At least Shouto didn't seemed to be that kind of person who would go along with something like that.  
Some stupid joke? Rather unlikely, too, even though this would have fitted to his first impression of Shouto. But Izuku had revised this very fast…  
Could he possibly wanting to ask for help? But, cross your heart: how should Izuku be to any help for him?

Or else… or… his heart began to beat a bit faster and he pressed his left hand on his mouth, unconsciously.  
This was as unlikely as getting the leading role in a blockbuster. Not completely within the realms of impossibility, but close to it.

'Cause… whereby _he_ should have left some impression on someone like Shouto?

"Hey!" Ochaco was shaking his arm to get him back to the present. „Stop overthinking, be happy about it!" She gave him a kind smile, as if she knew very well, what he was thinking.  
"Yes, you… you're right," he replied, returning the smile. And with that, he actually allowed himself to let unrestrained happiness gain the upper hand. A feeling, that had spread subliminally inside him. This sweet, naïve kind of happiness, which you only felt, when there was someone really showing interest in you. Someone, you were fascinated by yourself… but wouldn't have ever put into the category _accessible_.

In fact, Izuku hadn't, not even for a moment, even though in a direction like that. Not the least. Not only, 'cause there hadn't even been the slightest hint from Shouto, that he would think that way, but also, because, well… he seemed to be that kind of person, with a ton of admirers. Even though, it didn't look like he was very aware of that.

It was probably for that fact, that this was totally throwing him off track. 'Cause he didn't even think once, that something like this could ever happen.

The feeling of elation accompanied him throughout the rest of the day and without being able to control it, his thought drifted to Shouto over and over again. So it happened that he, without wanting it, was staring at his mobile again and again during the meeting with Tenya. Always hoping, that he would see a new message on the display.  
Normally he wasn't the kind of person, that always stuck to his mobile – especially not, if he was meeting friends –, but this was something different and he couldn't help it. Even though, his excitement was always replaced by some kind of disappointment every time he saw that there wasn't one.

As he was checking his messages the third time within one minute, Tenya seemed to have enough of it, "Izuku! This is terribly impolite!"  
Caught, he lowered his hand above the display and straightened. "S… sorry! You're absolutely right…"  
"Don't take it amiss. He's waiting for a special message," Ochaco explained calmingly, showing this big grin again and gave him a small wink. Immediately, Izuku was relieved that she didn't blurted it all out – and, that Tenya didn't mentioned it further, and only gave him a long, critical glance over the edge of his glasses.

In the past, it had happened to often that Izuku obsessed over something like this and had told everyone about it – sadly, nothing of it had been something permanent, that's why he had become cautious when it came to this topic. He didn't want to blaze abroad such things anymore, 'cause the disappointment and pain afterwards, when it didn't work out, weighted even heavier when everyone was asking about it over and over again.

Tenya still seemed a bit offended, so Izuku put his mobile into the depths of his backpack. After that he asked his mate, how things were going. He was a top athlete, making his way to the top – Olympia was in fact only a matter of time. That's why it was even more special, that they still managed it to meet at a regular basis, 'cause his appointment calendar was stuffed. Sometimes Izuku was wondering, how he endured this workload. It was remarkable…

But maybe this was only natural, when you had a big dream… you put all your heart and energy into it and that's why you could achieve the things, that seemed technically impossible. Giving up was something everybody could do. But only those who endured and believed with all their heart that they could accomplish it someday could make it true. This dream…

In this sense, Izuku could understand his friend very well. He wasn't any different to that. If he would have used a tally list to mark every single time somebody had told him that he should give up – he surely already would have pads full of lines. But he didn't give up. He fought on. Until the day he would stand on the top.  
Just as his idol All Might…

His thinking came to a sudden end, when a shout destroyed the idyll of the café, as brutal as dynamite would destroy a single-family house.

" _What the actual fuck is a fucking loser like you doing here?_ _Fuck off!"_

This voice Izuku would have recognized everywhere… and that wasn't only due to the volume level that compared to a full-grown explosion.  
Automatically he stiffened and looked shocked and with dilated eyes into the direction of this all too well-known sound. It caught him completely off-guard. Like a sudden blow on the back of the head. And it hurt just as it was leaving him completely paralyzed.

"Ka… cchan." It was just a silent whisper that left his mouth, but it seemed that he had heard it very well, 'cause the eyes of his former friend – former boyfriend, to be accurate – narrowed even more to angry slots. That he screamed, " _I'll fucking kill you!"_

It was Izukus fault. He shouldn't have used this nickname… but it was a habit from old days. For him, he would always be Kacchan.

Promptly, Ochaco and Tenya jumped out of their seats, as if they tried to build a protective wall between them. As if anyone could stop Kacchan when he had this particular expression in his eyes…

It was this thought, that shook him up. Released him from his state of shock. Hasty he stood up and lifted his hands calmingly.

"We don't want any trouble, we just – "  
" _Shut your fucking mouth and get lost!"_ His counterpart clenched his teeth. Looked like a furious bull, ready at any moment, to take somebody on its horns.  
"Hey! You have no right to talk to him like that!" interfered Ochaco, who had a unusual serious face.  
" _Stay the fuck out of this, stupid round-face!"_ He tramped towards Izuku, his hands clenched to iron fists. "If you dare to take this damn role from me…" Kacchans voice was no roaring thunder for once. Instead, he whispered threatening in a way that could freeze the blood in Izukus veins. Then he grabbed him by the collar and got so close, he hadn't been in years. The tips of their noses nearly touched.

But what would happen if Izuku dared to do this he never heard, because suddenly someone shouted trough the café: "Katsuki! Where are you, damn it? You don't get payed for sitting around!"  
An unwilling growl left his lips and Kacchan released him, before he screamed an answer. It was only now that Izuku noticed, that he wore the waiters uniform typical for this café.

Before he went back to work however, Kacchan gave him a look that was as vivid as deadly.

" _If you stupid fuck ever dare to show your face here again, I'll kill you, damn nerd!"_

With that he turned his back on them and dashed off. His aura was so aggressive, that some of the costumers slipped fearfully aside, when he passed them.

Izuku stared after him, too. But it wasn't fear he felt… it was a deep pain. Something he thought he had overcome a long time ago.

„I'm so so sorry… if I knew, that he works here, I would have chosen a different café…," Ochaco apologized, as soon as they were outside. She looked down on the ground, full of guilt.

"Don't sweat it!" Izuku smiled encouraging and he meant it exactly that way, but… deep inside he felt completely different.

How long had it been, that he'd seen Kacchan the last time? Three months? Four?

And when he just thought about what would have happened, if they really had met at the audition today… because it seemed, that they applied for the same role. Seemed to pure luck, that they didn't stumble into each other.

Both of them still worked for the same agency and a change was out of question for Izuku. After all, it was exactly this agency were All Might had been under contract… back then, when he had managed to climb to the top of the acting-Olymp. But instead of digressing into daydreams and raptures about his idol, his thoughts got stuck on Kacchan. Entangled there, like dainty spider webs.

To describe their relationship completely would have been fit to fill some novels. And when he gave more thought to it, their time together really sounded more like some story, rather than something that would happen in real life.

Thinking of all the things that had happened between them.  
Thinking of all, what they had been…

They knew since, well… always, actually. At first, they had been childhood friends. It had already been back then, that Izuku had looked up to him enthusiastic. Kacchan was one of those people who seemed to success at the first attempt, regardless what he tried out – that had fascinated Izuku at an early stage.

One day, however, their friendship turned into something very ugly. Izuku couldn't tell until this day, what the trigger had been for it… but it all started, when they began to go to school together. The bullying. Kacchan at the very front.

It had been painful years and memories. Things, that impacted him to this day and probably had left their marks forever. But one day… the tables turned again.

They parted, because Izuku changed the school due to the bullying, but fate decided, that they met again at a later point in their lives, when both of them were in senior class. This time they met in a theater group, 'cause ironically, both of them always have had the same goal. The same idol. The same dream.

At first, it had been a shock and Izuku had feared, that it all would start anew… but he had changed. Refused to bow down to intimidation that easily like back than at primary school and junior high. Well, and somehow, in a strange way, they got together. He and Kacchan.

It happened during one of those typical trips with the theater group. And what had seemed like a mistake at first glance, that only happened because of too much beer, ended in a relationship.

A quiet turbulent relationship with many ups and downs, but… they had been a good team, nevertheless. And an important part of one another. Because three years together were not a coincidence.

Kacchan had been the one to end it finally, for one of the dumbest reasons ever: the fear of missing out on something. After a short amount of time, however, he realized that he had made a mistake. And after that, they had tried it again, because damn, Izuku had hoped for it to work out somehow with all of his heart… that it _could_ work out. But that had been wishful thinking, only existing in his head. For the breach was there. Unerasable. And Kacchan lacked the tact that was needed to rebuild broken trust. Instead of empathy, he had reacted with blind rage. Rage about the fact, that it couldn't be exactly as before right away. But that only lead to Izuku moving away from him even more…

The end of the story had been, that Izuku himself drew a line under it – even though it partly broke his heart, too.

All of that happened over two years ago.  
Since then, their relationship was tense and difficult. Simultaneously, they automatically had become something like rivals, even though Izuku had never wanted that… but it somehow has happened. Because somehow it were always the same film projects they applied to.

Additionally, it seemed, that there was still something unspoken between them. Even though Kacchan relatively soon had someone new at his side. Someone, with whom Izuku got along surprisingly well. Enji Kirishima wasn't only some distant friend of Ochaco, he also had interfered calmingly often enough, when Kacchan had been on the brink of turning his killing threads into reality. Even though it had seemed to be some kind of a stopgap relationship at the beginning, this thought was totally outdated by now.

Izuku was glad for their sake, because they seemed to be… happy. Even though there was also some bitter taste to it. For when it came to himself… well, that was complicated. Sure, there had been some brief acquaintances, but never something serious or for the longer term. Not because Izuku didn't want to – but unfortunately it simply never fitted. Either it was the classical case, that his interest was unreturned, or the interest seemed to be there at first, but after meeting twice or for the third time, he never heard of them again. Well, or he was the one who lost his interest… way too often he had gotten his hopes up, just to realize after a short time, that his excitement faded away and he was kinda bored. And he wasn't the type for some halfhearted relationship just to have someone. All or nothing.

So, since Kacchan there sadly hadn't been anyone who had been able to really amaze him. That's why, at some point he had begun to wonder, if maybe he was to blame. Maybe he undermined himself, because he still hadn't processed his last relationship…

As soon as he had thought of this, he suddenly felt the vibration of his mobile, as if this wanted to remind him of the fact, that there _was_ someone who had caught his interest unexpectedly…

Hectically and with his heart beating faster, he looked at his mobile – just to be disappointed to see, that he had gotten a message from his mom. That sounded way meaner than he wanted it, because his mother was one of the most amazing people on this planet and deserved a medal only for all those times she had supported him. But because he had hoped to get a message from someone else, his enthusiasm was limited.

Ochaco gave him some interested sideways glance, but he only responded with a barely noticeable head-shaking. His heart was still beating faster than normal. And even thought he was disappointed, there was still something positive to it… because the prospect to soon receive a message from Shouto was enough, to get rid of the bitter taste the encounter with Kacchan had left. A bit, at least.

'Cause even if he had sworn to himself, to stop this… there was this small hope deep inside him, that it would be different this time. Different, compared to all the others. That maybe Shouto could be the one, who would finally be able to amaze him…

But sadly, Izuku received the pay-off for this small flicker of hope pretty fast, because reality hit him faster, than he had wished for. Und this was as crushing as it was sobering. Because what had started with happy, hopefully beating of the heart, every time he received a new message, soon changed into disappointment of the bitterest kind. For even after more than one and a half week he still hadn't heard anything from Shouto.

And even the most credulous fool on this planet knew the meaning of this.


End file.
